Math vs. Engineering Vs. Me = A Giveaway for You!

I am the first to admit that math and engineering are not my areas of strength. I am definitely heavy into words.

I freely admit that math boggles my mind. This does not mean I'm stupid.

Despite this, I have a daughter who excels at math. in fact, when I asked her to explain music theory to me - she's got an A in that class - she immediately lost me when she remarked, "It's easy! It's all math based - and if you get math, you'll understand music theory!"

Ahem. I still don't get music theory.

Engineers make the world a better place. They create everything we use - and the engineering world is predominately male oriented. In fact, only 11% of the engineers worldwide are female, even though Engineering and Technology are the fastest growing job segments in the world. That's a staggeringly small number. Our population is pretty close to a 50% split female and male - so imagine how much better the things we use every day would be if they were designed by both genders!

Recently, I was invited to learn more about GoldieBlox, a great new company for girls, founded by Debbie Sterling. Sterling is an engineer and founder of GoldieBlox, a toy company out to inspire the next generation of female engineers. She has made it her mission in life to tackle the gender gap in science, technology, engineering and math. GoldieBlox is a book series + construction set that engages kids to build through the story of Goldie, the girl inventor who solves problems by building simple machines. Debbie writers and illustrates Goldie's stories. In other words, this company was created to expose girls to engineering concepts from a very young age. GoldieBlox helps young girls develop spatial skills, understand basic engineering principles and build self-confidence in problem solving. As young girls internalize and learn more effectively through storytelling, GoldieBlox marries the story of Goldie, the girl inventor who loves to build, with a construction kit.

Why would someone need to create an engineering game/toy for girls? Girls and boys learn the same, don't they?

Not.Even.Close.

In her research into gender related learning differences, Debbie discovered that the two genders can be extrapolated into two camps - Build and Story vs. Build and Smash. Girls love stories and characters. They want to know why things happen - and, like it or not, they gravitate towards toys in the pink and purple color families - so, even though some say it's gender stereotyping, it makes sense to create a toy with which they will want to engage - something they will look at more than once.

Basically, if you incorporate the "Why", girls want to join in the play.

Recently, I participated in a discussion group with Debbie, and was thrilled to be able to ask her a burning question.

What makes GoldieBlox different from the other building sets out there - Legos, Erector Sets, Tinker Toys, etc?

GoldieBlox contains a story element - the pink and purple toys, so colored to appeal to girls, come with a book series. This series encourages girls to create a world that Goldie lives in. (Goldie is a character Sterling created based on her favorite spunky, fun literary characters - Eloise, Matilda, and Punky Brewster.) Sterling wants Goldie to be a beloved character, a character who grows with your girl and becomes a model to follow.

Sterling has great plans for this small company - GoldieBox are currently sold in ToysRUs and Books A Million, as well as many smaller independent shops - but she's shooting to get shelf space at Wal-Mart and Target. In order to do that, Sterling applied to a contest run by Intuit to win an ad in the Superbowl. Out of 15,000 applicants, the company was selected as a Top 4 Finalist. Want to help them get a 30 second ad on SuperBowl Sunday? You can vote here: http://bit.ly/Vote4Goldie

Like so many girls, Debbie Sterling was born an engineer...she just didn't know it. She's working to inspire the next generation of female engineers through GoldieBlox - a construction toy that marries storytelling with engineering, and opens the world of STEM to girls ages 5 and up. Watch the video to learn about the inspiration for GoldieBlox and the impact it's making on girls and their families.

Debbie is one of the newest members of #PassionProject, an American Express® program designed to enable, inspire and encourage people to pursue their passion projects. With #PassionProject, American Express is supporting a new generation of makers, creators and mold-breakers tapping into vibrant web communities to identify the stories of men and women living their passions every day. Not only does American Express showcase these inspiring #PassionProjects, but Membership also enables their #PassionProject to take the next step forward thanks to the strength of the American Express network.

To learn more about the members of #PassionProject and watch their stories here.

Want to win a GoldieBlox and the Parade Float” toy? Leave me an answer to this question: "How will GoldieBlox inspire a young girl in your life?”

Sweepstakes Rules:

No duplicate comments.You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this postTweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this postBlog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this postFor those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winner will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.The Official Rules are available here.This sweepstakes runs from 11/22/13-12/20/13.

Having a mix of three boys and four girls, I definitely see how genders play differently, even with the same toy. My #5 child would really enjoy this. (probably #7 would sneak it when she was at school as well ;))

Wow, this is the third time this week I have seen the GoldieBlocks info and I want them. :-) I want them for me! I'll keep them nice and safe until the baby girl is big enough to play and learn from them too. :-) As an engineer who grew up playing with her brother's lego, I know how building and construction toys can help shape your future. And you are never too old to get more.

My 7 year old daughter is a natural inventor -- maybe if she had GoldieBlox to work with I would not so often be stumbling on her stash of fridge magnets, paperclips, glue, grocery bags, socks, old shoe boxes, and everything else that she can get her hands on to make her ideas come to life! (I'd like my fridge magnets back, but how can you say no to an inventor?)

My oldest daughter wants to be an engineer at 12. I hope that she will continue with it and fulfill that dream. Games like this could be the difference between sticking with it or not. If nothing else, she can pass on her knowledge to her younger sister with these games.

This is great. I plan on getting GoldieBlox for my nieces and maybe even my nephew to explore. As an engineer myself, I am first hoping that they see this as a fun toy. I also hope that I can help them see that engineering is all around us.

Like you, my eyes glaze over when math is mentioned (perhaps a slight exaggeration). So my girls, age 8 and 6, would likely benefit from a toy that holds their interest while expanding their math/building horizon more than I could do.

My 6 years old daughter and her 4 year old sister love building with Legos, but I know the story aspect would be a definite draw. I think learning that they can solve problems and have fun doing it, would inspire them to do great things,

I think GoldieBlox will inspires young girls by showing them they can build and design interesting things and I know of two young women who would love to try them out. Smart girls need challenges and these can answer those challenges.

I am a director at a science museum, and we are very interested in these products. Like all museums, we need to watch our bottom line, so would love to be able to check this out for free to see if we need to work on a grant to get more and how we can use them in our museum!

Support My New Shoe Fund!

Help Buy Me A Coffee

About Me

Carmen Staicer is a whirlwind of energy and execution, who never sleeps and drinks way too much coffee. She works from home as Social Media Programs Manager for SheKnows, and is the mom to six kids, most of whom play instruments, sing or dance and all of whom are much smarter than she will ever be. In other words, her house is never ever quiet or still. A concentration of asthma, food allergies, spectrum disorders and learning disabilities means that she spends an awful lot of time second guessing herself and Dr. Googling, as well as learning to cook everything the family might like to eat. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, boxing (she has her Black Belt in Muay Thai), sleeping, exploring coffee shops, photography, ballet class and cooking. She excels in being a smart mouth and has her major in sarcasm, with a dual minor in BS studies and avoiding laundry.